Welcome to my blog. You never really know what to expect to find here. Some days, I might think I'm funny. Other days, I'm a little more serious. Sometimes, I'm just sharing a friend with you. Stick around and see what comes up next.

Oct 28, 2012

How to win over stray kittens

Any
animal lover will occasionally encounter stray kittens and sometimes
– either to get them spayed/neutered or just to adopt them as pets
– it might become necessary to gain their trust and win them over.
While it can be complicated, even difficult, it is do-able. The
greatest tool we humans have is food. In the animal world, food is
love. It should be noted, only try this with weaned kittens. Never
approach nursing kittens of a feral cat.

The biggest obstacle
is, of course, momma cat. Domesticated cats are protective of their
young as it is - to the point they will even attack people they're
accustomed to over their young. A feral cat will try to kill you if
you get too close to their offspring. This is no laughing matter
since a stray cat in defense mode truly is a deadly force. In order
to even have a chance to approach wild kittens, you must first win
over the mother cat. It will take weeks of regular feeding and
gentleness to win over a stray cat. If you're lucky enough to have a
cat see you protect it from a barking dog or a scary toddler, this
will earn you fast points. Cats remember these small things.

If
you're not successful in winning over the momma cat, you might want
to consider asking for help in trapping them from the local humane
society, which will probably also include having the cat spayed and
then released. Be prepared to pay a fee for their services, still,
they're reasonable.

If you've any sort of rapport with momma
cat, half of the battle is already won. Now it becomes a matter of
getting the mother to allow her kittens to eat, at least for short
intervals. In our case where I live, we have a particularly
gluttonous momma cat who seems to think she needed every single crumb
of food before the kittens – now fully weaned – had even a chance
at getting a bite. The solution is easy enough.

Since momma
cat cannot be in two places at once, we would leave multiple piles of
cat food so that the mother could eat to her piggish little heart's
content and the kittens would have at least some access to some of
the food too. They saw that we were the providers of their kibble.
And out-smarting momma cat also allowed the little ones to become
accustomed to our scent. Sometimes, it took three or four small piles
of cat food for the kittens to get so much as a bite. But soon, she
realized that she was getting enough herself, even though the young
ones were also eating too. This effort might take a few days to
accomplish.

But some cats are just pigs. No matter what
approach you take, they will not let their young eat. In those cases,
you'll need to physically separate the momma cat from the kittens
before they have any opportunity to get even a single bite.
Sometimes, you might consider letting momma cat into your house and
closing the door. It's probably better though, if you have a garage
she can be closed into for a few minutes while the kittens eat. After
they've eaten their fill and after you've taken small steps to let
them become accustomed to your scent and presence, let the momma cat
back out so she knows her babies are safe. As obnoxious as a cat can
be, she still deserves as much, at least. They are her young, after
all.

In addition to feeding them, you'll also need to let the
kittens see that you're no threat to them. If you sit outside while
they eat, make no sudden moves toward them. It probably won't hurt if
you were to soothe their over-inflated cat egos with soothing talk
from a distance. Once they've discovered you're not going to eat them
and that you'll probably protect them should they need you, you can
begin feeding them gradually closer to your door each day. It's just
a matter of time before their curiosity has them eating out of your
hands, literally.

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